Class News for August 21st...

Dear Parents and Students,

Thanks for visiting the class blog today! Kids, be sure to check out the new question below...Also visit the math facts site to begin practicing the +3 addition facts. If you can print a "100%" certificate, then you do not have to take the timed test on Friday!

Class Happenings...

This week in Phonics, we learned the sh, ch, wh, and th digraphs. We also began talking about how to make our writing more descriptive (using adjectives and writing "homerun" sentences...your child should be able to tell you what a homerun sentence is!) We reviewed nouns and verbs as well. In Reading, we used a Cynthia Rylant chapter book to learn expectations for independent work, as guided reading groups begin next week. Children are expected to always justify their answers to comprehension questions by finding "proof" from the book. We also reviewed what an acceptable second grade answer should look like. No excuses for forgetting to begin with a capital letter, end with punctuation, and space words appropriately! In Math, we continued our discussion of various ways to represent numbers (standard form, written form, expanded form, place value form, base ten block form). We also learned how to find the nearest benchmark number (a fancy way to say "rounding"!) and how to identify if a number is odd or even. In Science, we discussed the three states of matter and the distinct properties of each. Your child will be bringing home a vocabulary book on Friday that should be used for studying important words. The first science test will be on Monday. We also visited the Media Center for our first lesson and we learned how to take AR tests here at school.

Class Reminders...

*Open House for 2nd grade has been changed to Tuesday, September 1st at 6:30. I hope to see you there!

*Picture Day is August 27th.

*If you have not sent in a four-color pen, please do so by next Monday. We will use these pens when we begin editing our writing.

*Be on the lookout Tuesday for a list of 2nd Grade words. These words should be consistently spelled as well as read correctly in context. Your child's spelling grade on the report card will come from how well your child is applying these words in everyday use. We will be constantly practicing these words throughout the year. Please enforce correct spelling of these words when doing homework also.